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Friday, January 18, 2013

As we have seen from my posts on Monday and Wednesday beer styles evolve and change over time, dictated by the capricious whimsy of consumer demand and circumstances sometimes beyond the control of the brewers themselves. In the case of Burton Ale it went from being essentially very alcoholic brown syrup to being pale and very 'hoppy' and then back to being dark, though not quite as strong, all in the course of about 150 years.

This evolution is, at least for me, one of the things that makes the history of beer so interesting because it shows that beer is ultimately a human product. Let's face it, what are the chances of barley malting itself, having a quick mash and sparge then boiling itself with some hops, and finally adding yeast? While beer may be made from natural ingredients, and in the case of malt even that is debatable (ever seen malt in the wild?), it is anything but a natural product, it is as man made from beginning to end as the electronic device you are using to read this. As a result of its man made nature, beers from the past can be re-brewed, revived and it is possible to get some idea of what your grandfather was drinking.

Around this time for each of the last three years I have organised the International Homebrew Project, where homebrewers from around the world brew a common recipe and write about the results. Last year, and the year before, we brewed historic beers, a 1930s Milk Stout and 1850s 120/- Mild Ale, and in keeping with this tradition we will be brewing a historic beer again. As you've probably guessed by now, the 'style' we will be brewing is a Burton Ale, but from which era in its development? Well, over the right is a poll with choices of various recipes that I have access to, for different kinds of Burton Ale, whichever polls highest will be the recipe of choice, simples.

The choice of recipe will come from the following:

1860s Scottish version of Burton

1870s English recipe, originally brewed in Burton itself

1900s American Burton recipe

1910s English 'Mild' Burton

1930s English Old Burton Extra

1990s English recreation of 1840s pale Burton

If you plan to join the project, please vote in the poll and leave a message in the comments section or drop me an email.

NOTE: I will be replacing the IHP 2012 page above with a 2013 version later today with a proposed schedule for this year's project.